Africa Spectrum最新文献

{"title":"African Studies in Distress: German Scholarship on Africa and the Neglected Challenge of Decoloniality","authors":"S. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Rüdiger Seesemann, Christine Vogt–William","doi":"10.1177/00020397221080179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397221080179","url":null,"abstract":"This paper is a response to Matthias Basedau's article published in issue 55/2020 of the present journal. At a time when African Studies scholarship is rising beyond the flogging of dead horses, certain strands in the field in Germany seem to ignore much of the valuable scholarship and intellectual contributions by excellent African and non-African researchers alike. It is striking to see how Basedau falls prey to the same shortcomings that he draws our attention to, that is, the domination of African Studies by sources and figures outside the continent and the construction of Africa as a space of lack. This underscores the urgency of decolonizing African Studies at many levels, including liberating it from the straightjacket of area studies, interrogating purportedly objective scholarship, and opening it up to new theoretical perspectives. The restriction to comparative approaches will only ensure that these strands in African Studies remain stuck in their epistemological cul-de-sac.","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"57 1","pages":"83 - 100"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46741922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Book Review: African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa by Gomez, Michael","authors":"Georgi Asatryan, Jack V. Kalpakian","doi":"10.1177/00020397211060057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397211060057","url":null,"abstract":"The disciplines of politics and history tend to be Eurocentric. Even at the best universities, World or Global history tends to be limited to the study of certain societies. Large, sophisiticated and in some cases transcontinental historical empires are ignored by the social sciences. The tools used to study the few non-Western cases (China, Japan or Iran) are also artificats of Western civilization. Outside the small and specialized discipline of African Studies, nearly no attempt is made to understand these societies on their own terms, let alone appreciate and grapple with their achievements and practices. This is especially the case with Africa. Michael Gomez’ African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa is a book in the classical tradition of African studies as exemplified by Patrick Chabal, Stephen Ellis, John Fage, and Ann Hugon among others. In addition to oral histories, the book is built upon previously unpublished and unexplored archival data. Organized in 4 parts and 14 chapters, it uses a classical historical methodology. A sense of irony pervades the work, because of how the onset of civilization has been depicted previously. Inspired by his mentor, John C. Wood, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, the author learned Arabic to be able to read the manuscripts from the Islamic era onward in Western Africa. The book takes a close look at the cycle of West African empires, focusing especially onMali and Songhay using the chronicles of medieval West Africa, Ta’rı̄kh as-Sūdān and Ta’rı̄kh al-Fattāsh. These works focus on the rise and fall of imperial Songhay (20). Gomez argues that West Africa has had a significant impact on world history and must not be ignored. Critiquing World History, he argues that while the study of civilization often starts with the Near East and Egypt, the discipline disdains West African empires like Mali and Songhay – if they are mentioned at all (12). The author connects West Africa to the World system through the Middle East and North Africa. As the 2012– 2013 warfare in Mali showed, the region is deeply connected to the Middle East and North Africa, and in many ways, the conflict there was an extension of the Arab Spring which had devastated Libya and opened its vast arsenals to whoever can loot them. Immediately, after Muammar al-Qadhafi’s death in October 2011, over two","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"57 1","pages":"223 - 225"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49553327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Book Review: African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa","authors":"Georgi Asatryan, Jack V. Kalpakian","doi":"10.1177/00020397211062908","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397211062908","url":null,"abstract":"The disciplines of politics and history tend to be Eurocentric. Even at the best universities, World or Global history tends to be limited to the study of certain societies. Large, sophisticated and in some cases transcontinental historical empires are ignored by the social sciences. The tools used to study the few non-Western cases (China, Japan or Iran) are also artifacts of Western civilization. Outside the small and specialized discipline of African Studies, nearly no attempt is made to understand these societies on their own terms, let alone appreciate and grapple with their achievements and practices. This is especially the case with Africa. Michael Gomez’ African Dominion: A New History of Empire in East and Medieval West Africa is a book in the classical tradition of African studies as exemplified by Patrick Chabal, Stephen Ellis, John Fage, and Ann Hugon among others. In addition to oral histories, the book is built upon previously unpublished and unexplored archival data. Organized in 4 parts and 14 chapters, it uses a classical historical methodology. Inspired by his mentor, John C. Wood, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, the author learned Arabic to be able to read the manuscripts from the Islamic era onward in Western Africa. The book is a close look at the cycle of West African empires, focusing especially on Mali and Songhay using the chronicles of medieval West Africa, Ta’rı̄kh as-Sūdān and Ta’rı̄kh al-Fattāsh. These works focus on the rise and fall of imperial Songhay (20). Gomez argues that West Africa has had a significant impact on world history and must not be ignored. Critiquing World History, he argues that while the study of civilization often starts with the Near East and Egypt, the discipline disdains West African empires like Mali and Songhay – if they are mentioned at all (12). The author connects West Africa to the World system through the Middle East and North Africa. As the 2012– 2013 warfare in Mali showed, the region is deeply connected to the Middle East and North Africa, and in many ways, the conflict there was an extension of the Arab Spring which had devastated Libya and opened its vast arsenals to whoever can loot them. Immediately, after Muammar al-Qadhafi’s death in October 2011, over two thousand of his loyalists crossed the border with Mali, joining forces with local opponents of the Malian government (369). Book Review","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"57 1","pages":"107 - 109"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43249423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding African Agency in Peace and Security: Tanzania’s Implementation of “Non-Indifference” in Somalia","authors":"S. Jaensch","doi":"10.1177/0002039721993482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0002039721993482","url":null,"abstract":"Against the backdrop of the plurality of agents and contexts, Africa’s peace and security norms have remained contested and open to interpretation in political practice. This article argues that African agents manifest their agencies precisely through their distinct interpretation and implementation of security norms. Based on Tanzania’s rejection to join the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in 2007, this article zooms into the underlying domestic complexities by focusing in particular on the crucial influence of national identities for the ongoing construction of normative meaning in Africa’s peace and security landscape.","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"56 1","pages":"274 - 292"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45731853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Precarity, Permits, and Prayers: “Working Practices” of Congolese Asylum-Seeking Women in Cape Town","authors":"H. Nyamnjoh, S. Hall, L. Cirolia","doi":"10.1177/00020397211050077","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397211050077","url":null,"abstract":"This paper provides an ethnographic reading of how Congolese women, in particular aslyum seekers with temporary permits, navigate Cape Town's informal urban economy. We argue that the intersections of temporary permit status and gender, as well as the particularities of diaspora flows and settlements, compound the precarity of everyday life. We engage with how precarity shapes and is shaped by what we define as “working practices.” These practices include the everyday livelihood tactics sustained on shoestring budgets and transnational networks. We also show how, in moments of compounded crises – including the COVID-19 pandemic – marginal gains and transnational networks are rendered more fragile. In these traumatic moments, working practices extend to include the practices of hope and reliance on prayer as social ways of contending with exacerbated precarity.","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"57 1","pages":"30 - 49"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44808396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"African and Not Religious: The State of Research on Sub-Saharan Religious Nones and New Scholarly Horizons","authors":"Y. Gez, Nadia Beider, H. Dickow","doi":"10.1177/00020397211052567","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397211052567","url":null,"abstract":"Sub-Saharan African societies are widely seen as highly religious. However, at least 30 million Sub-Saharan Africans identify themselves as “religious nones” and are supposedly not affiliated with any religious tradition. While research interest in religious nones has been growing in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, there is a dearth of literature on nones in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this paper, we offer an overview of this understudied subject and dwell on key challenges for studying African nones, including preconceived notions and structural oppositions. We further muse on the identity of African nones and consider differences from the characteristics established concerning Western nones. The article draws on quantitative data from across the region (primarily from Afrobarometer and Pew Research Center) and supplements them with interview data collected in Chad, Kenya, and South Africa.","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"57 1","pages":"50 - 71"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48935129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring Africa's Agency in International Politics","authors":"Amanda Coffie, Lembe M. Tiky","doi":"10.1177/00020397211050080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397211050080","url":null,"abstract":"A protracted conventional knowledge within mainstream International Relations (IR) has been that African agents (states, organizations, and diplomats) are consumers of international norms and practices designed in the affluent countries of the Global North. Papers in this special issue present a challenge to this view; they discuss the active role and the influence of African actors in international politics and renew a call for the development of IR theories, concepts, and methods that reflect Global Southern and African experiences, ideas, institutions, actors and processes.","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"56 1","pages":"243 - 253"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41900226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Marriage of Convenience on the Rocks? Revisiting the Sino–Angolan Relationship","authors":"P. D. De Carvalho, Dominik Kopiński, I. Taylor","doi":"10.1177/00020397211042384","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397211042384","url":null,"abstract":"China's relationship with Angola – which is both the region's top oil exporter to China and recipient of the highest amount of Chinese loans – represents a critical case when it comes to studying Sino–African relations. The Sino–Angolan relationship, forged for purely pragmatic reasons at an opportune moment of mutual need in the early 2000s, has been labelled a ‘marriage of convenience’. A variety of factors have, however, altered the environment in which China first made inroads into Angola; most notably a decline in oil prices, and the 2017 political transition. These have provided fresh impetus to the Angolan political economy and relations with China. Based on interviews we show that although oil remains a central ingredient, China's role has substantially evolved. The marriage of convenience is experiencing a period of rocky introspection, one in which the notion of China having sway in Angola can finally be laid to rest.","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"57 1","pages":"5 - 29"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42561763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Book Review: Classify, Exclude, Police: Urban Lives in South Africa and Nigeria","authors":"Leila Demarest","doi":"10.1177/00020397211049812","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397211049812","url":null,"abstract":"on the interrelations between patronage access, elite and mass clientelism, and identity.","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"57 1","pages":"104 - 106"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41366761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Book Review: Under Construction: Technologies of Development in Urban Ethiopia","authors":"Kirsten Milo Nielsen","doi":"10.1177/00020397211034524","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00020397211034524","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45570,"journal":{"name":"Africa Spectrum","volume":"57 1","pages":"101 - 103"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44949172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}